How do we account for the current proliferation of depression as a diagnostic and cultural category?
How has its rise interplayed with the postsocialist transformation and the construction of the neoliberal order?

This monograph of contemporary Polish depression sheds light on the social, political, and semantic processes that have shaped its meanings, ex- periences, understandings, and treatments. Examining depression’s history in Poland after 1989, the author not only considers the social conditions of clinical practice, but also explores a broader phenomenon of the cultural dynamic of realification (urealnienie) – the socially produced sense of realness of the world around us. The book thus touches upon various aspects of cultural theory while keeping an ethnographic, empirical character.

It is addressed to the academic audience in the field of social sciences, cultural studies, or humanities, as well as anyone with an interest in the social factors shaping mental health and the cultural dimensions of capitalism.